Westbury Harriers Weekly News
Hi everyone,
Hope you all had a fab May Bank Holiday!
My entire weekend was spent at Blaise Castle from 7am on Saturday until Sunday 12:30pm supporting the inaugural Gravel & Grit Bristol Backyard Ultra event, camping on site and staying awake most of the night, with only two 20min naps. Up & Running are official retail partners for this event, it was a pleasure for me to be involved. I am yet to catch up on sleep, as I had to work on bank holiday too. An awesome, successful event that saw individuals, club runners (even 2 of our Westbury Harriers Gareth David and Martin Fielding did amazingly well – reports to follow) and friends take part and go the distance until one runner remained. Some wanted to achieve personal goals and run their longest distance, some came self-supported, some had never done a backyard race before, and others did it for fun. The format is to run a 4.167miles/6.706km loop on the hour, every hour until one runner is left and crowned the backyard winner.
It was super fun to watch, awesome to see a big community of runners come together, well organised and gained positive feedback. I think this will be a great event to see some Westbury Harriers take part in.
We also have some extra London Marathon race reports, plus a great article featuring our top lady Anne Dockery discussing the lack of representation in 55+ age groups within fitness brands and challenging the stereotypes around ageing.
Have a great week 🙂
In this week’s newsletter:
- Club notices
- Training this week
- Race reports / results
- Upcoming races
1. Club Notices
ARTICLE FEATURING ANNE DOCKERY
Always inspiring others into exercise and taking part in sport any level and age, and challenging the barriers of inclusion for masters athletes. Fitness brands need to do better!
WHAT IS THE POWER OF 10?
When we did the 5km time trial on the Downs some people were not aware of the Power of 10 website. Power of 10 (run by British Athletics) is the primary UK website for athletics rankings, results, and performance data from grassroots to elite levels. It allows athletes to track personal bests and progress, while coaches and clubs use it to measure and motivate performance across age groups. The platform is currently undergoing a major upgrade (debatable if it is actually any better and results now seem to be missing in this upgrade!).
Key Features of Power of 10:
- Rankings and Results: It maintains a comprehensive database of performances by UK athletes.
- Performance Tracking: Athletes can monitor their progress, look up personal bests, and compare themselves with others.
- Development Tool: It helps identify talent by setting performance targets (“Power of 10” targets) to encourage improvement in specific age groups.
- Coverage: Covers all major athletic events and ages (transitioning to new U12-U20 structures in 2026).
- Data Integration: As of 2026, the platform is integrating with runbritain rankings to provide a combined experience for track/field and road running
Power of 10 is a great way to track your own performances. As an England Athletic registered member you will feature on there. If you have any issues you can contact Power of 10. For example, if you are both a Westbury and Yate member sometimes they need to link your profiles.
OPENING THE CLUBHOUSE DURING BLASE PARKRUN – WOULD YOU LIKE TO VOLUNTEER?
We would like to be able to open up the Clubhouse on a Saturday morning during the Blaise parkrun.
This would allow us to offer an opportunity for those Club members who take part in parkrun to meet up over coffee and biscuits after their run.
It is also a great opportunity to showcase the club as welcoming to runners of all abilities who would be welcome to join us after their run and see what the club has to offer.
The Club is run by volunteers and those currently involved simply don’t have the capacity to take on this task. So we are looking for a group of about 4 volunteers to form a team to take the project forward.
What does this involve?
People can bring their own ideas as to what is needed and what is achievable, but in simple terms, opening up the clubhouse, putting the kettle on and making some drinks, being welcoming to anyone who wants to pop in and making sure the clubhouse is tidy and locked up when you leave.
We did try this out a few years ago and found that people were keen to stop for a coffee and chat, but then had other things to get on with and we were finished before 10:30am.
The club has a number of key holders already, we can add new people and explain the opening up and locking up procedures with you.
So, if you are a regular park runner this could be your opportunity to help in the operation and promotion of your club, whilst adding to the enjoyment of a parkrun at Blaise for yourself and others.
We are hoping to start with opening the Clubhouse once every three months but with a hope that a more regular schedule (monthly?) might be possible if we have sufficient volunteers and the events are successful.
If you might be interested in becoming part of this new team please contact Mark Andrews and we can discuss things in more detail.
REMINDER – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR BLAISE BLAZER, MONDAY 1st JUNE
In order to put this event on, we need nearly 50 volunteers spread across marshalling the course, registration, setup etc.
Marshalls will be need to arrive at 18:30, and people on setup / registration 17:30.
All information regarding volunteer positions, timings and the information pack will be sent the week before the event.
Don’t forget, volunteers who have participated in at least one Club Championship race will receive 10 Club Championship Points for volunteering at each of the three events that we host each year!
If you are able to volunteer, please let Alastair know at volunteers@westburyharriers.co.uk
MONDAY SENIOR TRAINING LOCATION – RETURN TO BLAISE DELAYED UNTIL 11 MAY
This applies to all groups who would have expected to return to Blaise Castle – seniors, juniors and academy.
THERE’S STILL A CHANCE TO JOIN THE BOAT TRIP!
We are trying to organise an upriver boat trip on Saturday 20th June 19:00 – 22:00 on Bristol Packets ‘The Bagheera. We need to pay the deposit to secure the boat asap. We are asking for a non-refundable deposit of £10 per head. We need at least 22 people to make this work, but can go up to 50.
The approximate cost of the trip is about £24 ph + about £13:75 for onboard fish & chip. This cost of the trip will depend on numbers, could be under £20 + F&C if we get 50 people!
Please do think about signing up as we need more people and it’s great that there will be a club social event.
Please pay the deposit to Sarah.
YATE AC – TRACK RACING
As the sun comes out and we move into the spring/summer you may fancy giving the track a go. As a Westbury Harrier member you can join our sister club Yate AC for free. As Westbury is registered for road and cross country disciplines only, for track we compete for Yate AC who are only registered for the track discipline.
- To do this join Yate as Westbury associate member.
- Complete the other discipline form. Attached to this email. This needs to be signed by a WH committee member/team manager and then sent to both Westbury and Yate membership secretaires (membership@westburyharriers.co.uk and yatemembership@outlook.com). You only need to complete this form once.
- Once registered you may want to check your power of 10 profile updates to show Westbury and Yate so your results show. Any issues email power of 10
BLAISE BLAZER – ENTRIES OPEN
Entries are now open for this year’s Blaise Blazer. Entry only £10/£12. Monday 1st June 2026.
Scenic/hilly 6k through Blaise Estate. Friendly event, all abilities are welcome. Plenty of individual, team & spot prizes and lots of free cake after.
https://westburyharriers.co.uk/events/blaise-blazer/
2. TRAINING THIS WEEK
MONDAY – Tempo Run:
Group runs from Coombe Dingle Sports Complex at 6.30pm. These are perfect sessions for a Tempo pace run. Equally there are plenty of groups available if you want a recovery or social run. Book via RunTogether.
WEDNESDAY – Hill Session:
Adults, all abilities. Meet every Wednesday at 12pm, corner of Saville Road by the Downs. Sign up on RunTogether App.
THURSDAY – Interval Session:
7pm at Coombe Dingle Sports Complex.
6 sets of the:
2mins – 30secs jog recovery – 30secs fast – 1min jog recovery
Aim for 5k pace on the 2mins, quicker than 1mile pace on the 30secs, and to keep jogging on the shorter 30secs recovery.
3. RACE RESULTS/REPORTS
THE LONDON MARATHON CONTUINED (A few extra reports/photos from the London Marathon)
by Rachel Liston:
Sharing miles with Peppa Pig! I learned the hard way not to switch gels halfway through training! Plagued with stomach cramps from halfway, I don’t recall ever having to dig deeper, there were ugly tears at the finish line! Just about a pb with a sprint finish for the line. 1st time I’ve seen celebs on route, I’ll share my photo (one for the younger audience!)
by Carolyn Dent:
As one of Westbury’s slower runners the support on the course today was awesome. This photo captures the joy of spotting one of my teams! Awesome experience!
by Tracy Li:
I was first meant to run London in 2020, when the race was cancelled because of Covid. I’ve been wanting to run it ever since and things finally worked out this year. I wasn’t feeling quite right on the day and could tell something was off after the first few miles, so I just focused on finding the right pace to get to the end, and on taking in the sights and the incredible atmosphere. It was a slower and harder run than I’d anticipated, but an amazing experience, especially after waiting 6 years!
by Alec Sampson:
So it wasn’t a PB, but that was never going to be, I have missed pretty much a year of training with my hamstring, I was at about 8 miles and thinking that perhaps I’m just not cut out for this marathon lark, luckily I took water and gels at just the right times and trusted my legs, got to 12 miles and suddenly it felt comfortable again. Didn’t push on, but found a bit of backbone mentally. I suffered towards the end, but kept the pace right. This is probaly my best marathon performance, as I had no block of 5k or 10k training beforehand. On to berlin!!
by Hannah Large:
Iain and I at the finish. It was so fun to both be on the start line this year, thanks to some complex childcare logistics! Ian had a great run in 2:48, about 30secs off his PB. I finished in 3:03 – I had been hoping to see if I could just duck under 3hrs, but my legs just didn’t have it in the last 6 miles. Still very happy with a 20min PB though. Well done to all WH runners for everyone’s brilliant performances.
by Sandy Masters:
Another top performance from Sandy. She’s awaiting her medal for coming 2nd in her age group, it should come through the post soon!
“This was my 8th London Marathon. Great day as always, the organisation, marshals and crowds were brilliant. It was tough in the heat and from mile 19 it was a struggle, developed cramp in my toes for the first time, so had a slightly odd running gait for the last few miles! Hope my legs recover in time for Cape Town.”
MASSIVE CONGRATS TO ALL OF YOU!
4. UPCOMING RACES / CLUB CHAMPS
A reminder that we have an events calendar on our website where you can keep track of dates for training, events and races. https://westburyharriers.co.uk/events/events-calendar/
And club champ races here: Club Championship – Westbury Harriers
Other club races:
Monday 1st June – Blaise Blazer
Other local races:
Tuesday 9th June: Clevedon Midsummer 10k – https://clevedonac.co.uk/our-races/midsummer-10k-race/
Friday 26th June: Beer and Banger 10k – https://www.stuweb.co.uk/race/3yS
Thursday 16th July: Purdown Pursuit (TACH) – https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?event_id=17733
Sunday 30th August: Wyedean Relay Race (Please see Gary Dicken’s post on Facebook) – https://sites.google.com/site/roguerunsevents/home/our-events/wyedean-relay
“This is a race I have taken part in for the last few years and members have said they’re interested in taking part. I have put a post on the Facebook page with all the details.
The Wyedean relay race is a race split over 7 legs from Ross on Wye to Chepstow approximately 38 miles long. It’s an off road race mainly following the river Wye of various distances and elevation.
Teams of 7 with a minimum of 2 ladies per team. If there is enough interest we will enter up to 2 teams. It is not an affiliated team therefore anyone can run, so if you know someone who isn’t a member of Westbury they can still compete.
Legs are self navigated and cost £12 per runner. The same as the Cotswold way each leg has its own start time and times are accumulated at the end”.
You can speak to Gary if you are interested.
Please send anything you might want to see in the newsletter to: communication@westburyharriers.co.uk
Editor: Yvette Casallas
